Welcome to Secret Breakfast / An exclusive newsletter, the best place to start your day with giant tacos, enameled cast-iron cookware, and a true nightmare made of baguette-coat-hangers

Hi there!

There’s a new Taylor Swift album out there: The Tortured Poets Department, a masterpiece - it has been said - with “a dark academia aesthetic”.

It has been suggested that the title contains a mistake.

No, I’m not talking about the lack of an apostrophe (as in The Tortured Poets' Department, which appears to sound “more correct”).

The real mistake is not naming it The Tortured Pots Department, because Taylor has often been filmed while cooking with enameled cast-iron cookware.

I'm just waiting for her to deliver a 50 Easy One-Pot Meal Ideas song.

Piero

PS: and now, a special welcome to the people coming here from 🇮🇹Spuntini by Myriam “The Food Sister” Sabolla and 🇪🇸Martescitos de Recomendaciones by Araceli “Ari Bradshaw” Ocaña: “Hey, you seem to have good taste, what are you doing here?!”.

✦ Kristin Hannah, The Women.

THE “TIME = MICHELIN STARS” ALGORITHM

Pavyllon at the Four Seasons on London’s Park Lane, which has one Michelin star, is offering a £55.50, “five courses in 55 minutes” menu during the week.

Good. Or…

Is it the rise of the speedy Michelin-star menu?

I’ve experienced great one-star menus in about an hour, and 4-5 hours in three-star restaurants. Then, maybe, an 8-hour dinner when hostage of a bunch of caterers and a couple of enthusiast newlyweds during their own wedding.

I’m not a fan of 2+ hours long food experiences, even when I’m with the best company. Even when I spent $500 months in advance.

But…

What if the real sense of a remarkable food experience was living the moment? Enjoying every second when every second counts (as per The Bear Season 2). When you’re doing that, who’s counting the hours?

Picture: Netflix

My Big Fat Greek Cookbook

★★★☆☆

Sticky aubergine tart, sea bass with pistachio pesto, baklava cheesecake. I think none of us has ever cooked one of those Georgina Hayden’s recipes (★here). Maybe one does eat Greek in Greece but doesn’t cook Greek-ish at home. Why? Then, this book is for those who wish to bring some more Mediterranean on their plate.

Greekish by Georgina Hayden
→ Shortplot: 🇬🇷 🫒 🍆 🥒

thrivingonplants

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🥄Homemade Instant Miso Soup (★recipe) 🥖The Cringest Thing You’ll See Today: Baguette Coat-hangers 🍓Lacto-fermented Strawberry Honey (★recipe) 🥜Peanut Butter Noodles (★recipe) 🐜Fall in Love With a Smaller Kitchen 🐷Former Football Player Luis Figo Loves Pig’s Head Delivered at Home 🍋Tartine Bakery’s Lemon Cream (★recipe) 🐟Goodbye cod, hello herring: why putting a different fish on your dish will help the planet 🥬What’s the best part of Tonkatsu, if you’re a vegetarian? The Super-Thin Cabbage (★recipe) 👕The Chore Coat is the coolest Restaurant Status Symbol 🍳Don’t forget the only Rolex we respect here: the Ugandan Vegetable Omelet and Chapati Roll (★recipe)

Two Hedonistic Texas Taco Chains Could Upend Mexican Fast Food. Is America Ready? 
Tom Foster / Texas Monthly

Velvet Taco and Torchy's, both led by investment groups, are battling to become the next national taco chain with unique flavors and upscale vibes. These Texas-born rivals aim to redefine tacos while facing criticism for the lack of Latino leadership in a cuisine with deep Mexican roots.

Behind a Vegan Chef’s Holistic Empire, an Ugly Reality
Brett Anderson / The New York Times

Matthew Kenney, a celebrity vegan chef, has been running a chaotic business for decades. Despite repeated failures to meet financial obligations, he has been able to secure funding from new investors due to his fame and their commitment to veganism. Ex-employees allege that Kenney withheld paychecks, used investor money for personal expenses, and fostered a hostile work environment.

➤ Last week's most clicked link was the chef Mory Sacko's profile, which was unexpected. Anyway, that's all for today.